Everything
by Scruff the Rat
Summary: "It just felt right, I guess." Neither of them could have predicted what those words would pave the way for...Larry x OC. Named after "Everything" by Lifehouse...


**Ahem...**

**Yeah, I 'm not sure what to say for this story—aside from the fact that it revolves around another Canon x OC pairing. Just be warned. **

**On the bright side, if you've already read my other Canon x OC story, "Psycho," you'll recognize the OC I'm placed in here. And sorry about some of Hamster's aspects being off in this story; I just realized my description of her in the last story didn't exactly match up with my description of her in Deviantart. I like to be consistent with my characters.**

**I only own anything and anyone I thought up, Hamster included. Everything and everyone else belongs to their respective owners.**

* * *

Middleton was not exactly what you'd call a "hot town"—at least not in appearance.

If you expected daily excitement, you would have most likely thought of Go City, Upperton, or even Lowerton. Middleton? _Forget about it,_ you might say at first. _What's so special about __**that**__ place?_

True, the town itself lacked luster, especially where its older districts and school districts were concerned. And while it had newer, more immaculate areas, Middleton had none of the eye-popping, futuristic skyscrapers of Go City, the high-class, imposing mansions of Upperton, or the robust, historic buildings of Lowerton.

Looks aren't everything.

The Medical Center, the Space Center, the Motor Lodge, the park, the zoo—what Middleton lacked in style, it made up more than enough in culture and recreation. Even more, this town—this home—served as residence to a certain, world-famous, red-headed, cheerleading heroine and her goofy but lovable, blonde sidekick...oh, and their epically awesome, pink, naked mole rat, too.

And anyone _still _unwilling to admit the town's true beauty could just take a hike then to a very, very warm place and stay there—and that doesn't mean the Everglades. Because right now that all of that "beauty" lay out in front of its spectator like a red carpet to a Gala.

Standing on a hill overlooking the entire town, the young woman would've seemed like a totem pole to anyone seeing her from a distance, her usually grinning and crazed face peaceful and solemn. She had shoulder length brown hair with one long, crooked bang trailing down her face, caramel toned skin, wideset emerald eyes (which were currently half-lidded), somewhat thick, brown eyebrows, a curvy nose, and stood at about Kim and Ron's heights.

Her attire consisted of ridiculously massive, yellow and black shoes with white thickly lining where the red laces were, socks rolled up at the top, dark blue jeans with the cuffs rolled up at the ankles, a black belt with a large, shiny yellow buckle, a black, turtleneck T-shirt, red and black fingerless gloves with yellow wristbands, and a medium blue vest with chest pockets and waist pockets (both sets in red and adorned by small, yellow buttons), and red trimming around each sleeve and partially lining down each shoulder. For the pièce of résistance, she wore on her neck a silver necklace, the chain attached to a silver rendition of an exaggerated, buck-toothed head of her namesake, shining brilliantly in the midday sun.

She had no idea how long she'd been standing on that mini-summit, hands in her pocket, her eyes drinking the sights of the town and its suburbs far below.

A few seconds...an hour...a day...a month maybe...perhaps even a year—to Hamster, time just seemed to mash its seconds altogether like fruits blended into a smoothie. Which was good in her opinion—Hamster _hated_ checking the time. She'd always preferred living in the moment.

Especially after the final battle from three years ago—despite being a goddess's reincarnation, taking down the literal core of the universe, the Spectrum, with the help of not only seven newly reborn elemental knights but their hosts as well (of which Kim had been one of them) proved to be the hardest, most exhausting task she ever undertook in her life.

Hamster only hoped she'd never have to do it again.

Sacrificing her existence to prevent Kim and the other hosts from fading away—Hamster never regretted that. Hell, if she could, she would have gone back in time and done it all over again. Life meant too much just to throw it away, even for the so-called "common good."

What she _did _regret was never getting a chance to spend a few more moments of peace with her family—the seven knights— especially her father, the Ringmaster, all of whom faded away almost immediately after the Spectrum's destruction in order to take her original place as World Matrix, the core of the universe.

_Please be happy for yourself; be happy for all of us._

Those were the Ringmaster's final words to her. Hamster put a hand to her heart and thought back to all of the people she'd met on her seven-year journey.

Friends...

Enemies...

Frenemies and everyone else in between...

So many people she'd lost yet just as many people she'd gained...

For all their worth, for better or worse, every single one of them helped Hamster become who she is today. She'd never forget them for that. And on their behalf, for better or worse, she'd live for herself...because life is too short to spend it in fear.

And she intended to spend a few precious moments of her life by breaking a little piece of good news to some old friends. With a deep breath to steel her resolve and a smile on her face, Hamster walked down the hill, her thoughts to the future.

_'Time to pay a certain Type-A redhead and her out-there BF a little visit...'_

* * *

"Welcome to Bueno Nacho, Hamster! The usual, I presume?"

A bespectacled brown-haired, young man in an orange and brown Bueno Nacho uniform gave the female brunette approaching the counter his best, manager-worthy smile.

"Hey to you, too, Ned," greeted Hamster with a simple, two-fingered salute. Hands akimbo, she tilted her head back and gave the order list on the wall above Ned's head a cursory glance. With a snappy wink, she answered, "Yeah, give me a grande-sized Naco and a Diet Pep, wouldja?"

"You got it!"

As Ned went to the back to prepare the order, Hamster took the chance to turn her back on the counter and casually scan her eyes across the tables for any familiar shots of red or yellow hair or tiny, pink mammals.

No dice, those two must still be in school.

_'Great, I just love eating by myself.'_ Oh well, at least she'd have time to herself to plan over how she would best break the news to her friends. That would probably involve sitting. A _lot_ of sitting...

Hamster hated sitting.

"Greetings, fair maiden, I understand you are not a regular occupant of this tavern."

If somebody in the future asked Hamster what part of the strange voice made her look in the direction it came from, she would've made a toss-up between the snotty (as in both definitions of the word) tone and the over-the-top medieval words.

_'Although you readers have to admit; "fair maiden" has a nice ring to it,'_ Hamster mentally commented. She turned her head to her left...and scrunched her eyebrows in both amusement and confusion the second her eyes took in the character standing beside her.

The fair-skinned guy staring at her through thin-rimmed glasses as if she were a fascinating new specimen under a microscope had all the looks of a stereotypical nerd. Standing yay tall with no remarkable physical traits, he more or less shared Hamster's height, his pudgy belly, sloth-like arms, and unkempt brown hair lending to his introverted yet comical appearance. Dressed in baggy, khaki jeans that were held up by a black belt and hiked up way too far up his waist, a white, long-armed, collared formal shirt, and shiny, dark-brown dress shoes, the young man, a calm smile on his face, adjusted his glasses up his rather pointy nose.

"I overheard you and Ned talking just now. So _you're_ Hamster, I presume? Heh, I must say; I didn't expect to run into a specimen of your caliber, fair lady," the nerd rubbed his round chin in a thoughtful manner, "The boldness you exhibited in your entrance was most admirable, indeed."

Hamster blinked blankly, her mind at a loss for what to say. _'Okay, obviously this guy's trying to woo me...even though he's not really doing a spectacular job of it.' _Seriously, who in their right mind compliments you on how you enter a building?

Then again, who was Hamster to judge, being a certified oddball herself? Besides, at least this guy sounded sincere in his compliments. Hamster had had her fair share of come-ons in the past, so she's sure she would've caught this boy's eyes trailing down her body. How else would he have been able to comment on her appearance without taking it in full?

To her surprise, though, the nerd's black eyes remained on her face, never even trailing to the people working behind the counter. Hamster shook her head to wake her mind back up once she realized he was still expecting an answer.

"Yeah, that's me alright," she tried to look cool and relaxed, crossing her arms and leaning her back against the counter. Unfortunately, she misjudged her unbalanced weight and ended up slipping rear-first onto the floor instead, her head knocking against the counter's edge on the way down.

Her new associate jumped back at the brief spectacle, but quickly regained his composure and kneeled down beside the fallen girl, his face twisted in concern. "Are you alright?"

Hamster didn't respond. She literally had her hands full cradling the back of her bruised noggin, her right eye twitching at the sharp soreness. She squeaked out "ouch" with a wince of pain. _'Smooth move, Ham-for-Brains. Very smooth move.'_

Without a word, the nerd slipped one of his hands around her waist, either ignoring or oblivious to Hamster's stiffening, and gently took one of the girl's hands in his other. While he helped her stand up, Hamster tried her hardest not to blush at her proximity to this guy, more specifically to his bulk. Even though he didn't have an athletic build, the fat and sparse muscle managed to send Hammy's hormones into a tizzy. His body structure reminded her too much of a teddy bear.

_'Okay, human contact is over!'_ Hamster pulled away from the boy's hands, not giddy from his touch but not shivering from it either—a warm neutral perhaps?

Luckily, Ned's abrupt return spared the heroine from her thoughts. With a worried frown he asked her, "Is everything okay, Hamster? I thought I heard something bump."

As timely as his reappearance was, Hamster didn't need somebody tending to her, especially not a peer, so she plastered on her most convincing smile. "Eh, that was just my thick skull. Don't worry, Ned. I'm fine."

Ned stared at her for a few seconds, not sure whether to believe her, but decided to take her words at face value, knowing how physical she could get in an argument. "Well, if you say so." He regained his smile, though, at the sight of the young man standing beside her, "Oh greetings, Larry!"

Larry returned both the wave and the smile. "Greetings, Ned!"

"What are you doing here? I thought Bueno Nacho wasn't your cup of tea?"

"It isn't," the shaggy-haired boy replied, shrugging his shoulders, "I only came by to notify you that the next Robot Rumble has been cancelled."

For reasons beyond Hamster's ability to care, Ned looked as if _Christmas_ had been cancelled instead. "It has; how come?"

"Not quite sure, but I'd rather not keep you busy during work, so I'll just—"

Hamster tuned out the rest of the conversation at this point, still busy nursing the bump on her head, her inner voice nagging at her for her clumsiness. Even after six years of performing in the circus and seven years of fighting all sorts of bad guys, she _still_ couldn't walk around in public without invoking involuntary slapstick upon herself.

Fortunately for her, concern wasn't the only reason Ned came back; he'd quickly placed Hamster's order on the counter during his brief conversation with Larry. "Oh, and by the way, Hamster, your Naco's ready!"

Never did Hamster think she'd feel so grateful at the sight of a Naco. _'At least I can get my stomach to shut up.' _"Thanks, Ned!"

After paying Ned then grabbing the tray full of food, Hamster moved towards Kim and Ron's usual spot, not even bothering to wait up for the pair anymore. She quickly noticed out of her peripherals that Larry was following her.

"So Hamster...," he stated with curiosity, "I've heard much about you from my cousin. What brings you to Middleton?"

"Just business," the brunette calmly but icily answered, sounding defensive so that this doofy dude would get the message and leave her be. Again, no dice, he _still _tailed her, even going so far as to sit down opposite of her after they reached the table.

Hamster sighed in heavy irritation, her head drooping in that exaggerated fashion only toons like her could. Didn't this guy have anything better to do than tailing some random woman? Probably not, although Hamster had to admit; she admired the dude's persistence.

"Is that so?" Larry went on, a slim eyebrow raised, his arms crossed on the table in a meditative manner. "If it's _just business_, then wouldn't waiting for Kim and Ron _after _school ended have been a wiser choice?"

Good thing Hamster had barely started eating her Naco, which hung in her hands in front of her gaping mouth and blushing face. The embarrassment at having this obvious flaw pointed out would've most likely made her choke. Larry's smug grin didn't help either. In fact, it quickly caused Hamster's blood to boil. With the greatest restraint, she calmly lowered her meal to the tray and mimicked Larry's position.

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Shouldn't _you _be in school?"

_'Touché,'_ Hamster hadn't expected him to deliver a comeback, much less so easily. Maybe those clothes weren't just for show, after all. When her eyes drifted away from Larry's saucy smirk, though, Hamster couldn't help noticing something particular, a detail she could mallet-slam herself for not noticing earlier.

"You have chipmunk teeth."

For the first time since she met him, Larry lost his nonchalant air. A blush rose up on the boy's pudgy cheeks, his smirk instantly shrinking into a tiny grimace. Larry didn't take long in defending himself, though. Getting angry in front of Hamster (_also_ for the first time), he crossed his arms over his chest tighter, looking more like an upset infant than an upset teenager, and childishly glared.

"It...It's just a slight overbite! It took me a while to get over sucking my thumb!"

He pouted and looked away, in spite of the damage already being done, but Hamster wasn't about to let him off the hook just yet. There was some unexplainable thrill she felt in seeing this dude lose his cool.

"No!" the falsely frowning girl slapped a hand to her cheek in mock sympathy. Her teasing smirk said everything. "_You_—oh, your poor baby, that must've been a horrible time for you, wasn't it?"

Larry surprised her when he snapped his face back her way and scowled even darker. "You know, I don't have to take this!" _'I'm a Level 5 Dungeon Magus! I don't have to subject myself to her ridicule.'_ Larry went so far as to slam his hands down on the table as he stood up. "I could just leave and not bother seeing you again."

Whatever effect he expected this statement to have on her, Hamster had no idea. What she _did_ have an idea of was the hurt those words incited in her. What right did this guy have to talk to her like that? Working on that familiar rush of pure adrenaline, Hamster imitated Larry once again, standing up and slamming her own hands to the table while returning the scowl at full force.

"Who said you _have _to? It's not like we're dating or anything. Heck, I hardly know you besides the freaky, sci-fi obsessed cousin Kim complained to me about from time to time!"

"And I hardly know you besides the lonely, psychotic half-toon Kim and Ron worry over from time to time!"

Everything fell into dead silence.

Both brunettes felt their faces drop in shock and looked away after a long second of nothing but stunned staring. Thankfully for them, they were the only customers inside the restaurant and Ned and the rest of the employees were in the back, so at least their brief shouting match hadn't caught anyone's attention.

That fact didn't make this moment any easier, though.

After they sat back down, Hamster turned her gaze down on the Naco; this dispute deprived her of her hunger. After a few more moments of quiet, she reluctantly pushed the tray towards Larry, the action earning her a raised eyebrow after the boy looked at the food in both confusion and surprise.

"I'm sorry. I was just poking a little fun at you."

Larry blushed again, this time out of shame instead of anger, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah well...I guess I overreacted a tad. Sorry. You might already know this, fair maid—Hamster...but...I'm not exactly a very socially adept person."

_'That's what I got the second I first lay eyes on you,'_ but Hamster knew she couldn't say that out loud. She was blunt and crude, but not cruel. Looking away from Larry to idly observe the busy world outside of Bueno Nacho, Hamster let her mind wander back to their outburst.

_I hardly know you._

Of course they hardly knew each other. They'd never met before today...but that didn't excuse Hamster's lack of empathy. Larry was more sensitive than his appearance hinted him to be yet Hamster disregarded that. She'd felt rotten plenty of times before, but this time, as far as her emotions were concerned, topped all of those.

So wrapped up in her self-loathing thoughts, Hamster startled a little when she noticed Larry walking away from the table.

"I should get going."

For the third time today, something about him triggered something in her. Hamster didn't know how or why, but something in his downcast eyes made her want to blow her toughness act out of the water, to cry and hug him, tell him that she was sorry and that everything would be okay between them.

Except they would have to be friends to do that, and despite her many faults, Hamster knew when opportunities presented themselves—and now was one of them—so she did the only thing she knew that would assure a chance of that happening.

"Wait."

Larry paused in the doorway and looked back, much to the relief of the brunette, who turned around and leaned her hands on the top of her seat, her expression searching and curious.

"Why did you bother talking to me in the first place?"

The only reply Kim's cousin could give consisted of a shrug of his shoulders and one answer: "It just felt right, I guess."

And just like the wind, Larry left.

* * *

She didn't see him again after that incident. Not at Bueno Nacho, at least.

In some ways, that fact was a relief; in others, a pain.

What could have happened to him? Was he doing alright? Did something happen to him?

Maybe—

No, Hamster had to stop being so sentimental and let bygones be bygones! After all, Larry was just one person in a sea of millions. He and she only had that short encounter to know each other, so what point lay in worrying over somebody still a stranger to her?

If only letting go could be as easy as it sounded in Hamster's head. She didn't think his life wasn't worth much, per say. She simply believed his life and her life were meant to have nothing to do with each other. For that reason, she never bothered asking Kim or Ron for info about Larry.

As far as she believed, destiny would simply leave matters the way they were.

She should've known better by now.

* * *

"I'm telling you, KP," a certain blonde exclaimed later that week, "Having Hamster around for senior year will be a total blast!"

World-hero Kim Possible rolled her eyes at her boyfriend—Hamster showed not the slightest bit of shock when Kim told her that she and Ron had started dating since Junior Prom last year. _'Tch, it's about time they got together. I swear Ron was dropping hints every five minutes the last time I stopped by.'_

"I'll admit; having Hamster around for our last year of high school _would _be pretty spankin'," aforementioned brunette grinned sassily when Kim looked her way but dropped the expression once she caught the ginger's stern look, "I just hope you know what you're getting into."

Hamster rolled her eyes. "Don't sweat it, K. I've outsmarted renegade video game characters, air pirates, supervillains, and even deities; I can handle whatever _school_ launches my way. Besides, I already got the credits I need to transfer as a senior."

Mild surprise crossed Kim's face, "Really, how?"

Hamster picked out a slip of computer paper from her backpack and gave it to Kim, who took and read it, Ron and Rufus looking over her nearest shoulder. Kim perked an eyebrow in perplexity once she spotted the name of the school.

"Acme University?"

"You'd be surprised at how easily Barkin approved my transcript, not mention believed me on how quickly I got the credits."

No kidding. The head of the university, Bugs Bunny, gave her an allegedly super-duper difficult test that would determine her level of knowledge of basic subjects, as well as, of course, toon subjects—that info was all the rabbit had been able to tell her right before she stuffed the test, all filled out and completed, back in his face with a speed the Roadrunner would have been proud of.

Barkin had been no less taken back. "He said something along the lines of how it's 'unlike anything he's ever seen,'" Hamster continued, puffing her chest out and imitating the military-style educator's gruff voice surprisingly (and disturbingly) well.

Kim smirked at that tidbit of information. "_That_, I can imagine."

Deciding to ignore the remark, Hamster put her hands in her pockets and stared ahead, mulling over the upcoming senior year. "Yeah, with my sort of brainpower, high school will be a breeze. Granted, I'll have Barkin breathing down my neck about college and all that other jazz, but on the bright side, I'm used to adults breathing down my neck."

"Speaking of colleges, Hamster, what do you plan to do after senior year? Obviously, multiverse champion is out of the question since," Kim suddenly stiffened as if realizing something and so dipped her green eyes in subtle unease, suddenly realizing she had brought a topic she shouldn't have, "...you know..."

_'Oh yeah...Staff...' _

Though the name of not only her weapon but also her former partner in action still made a good chunk of her heart recoil in sadness, Hamster sighed with calm resignation and put a hand on Kim's shoulder. "It's okay, Kim. I get it. And don't worry; I already got a couple of plans as to what I could do for the future. I didn't accelerate my way through a school for toons for noth—"

**WHAM!**

Hamster never finished her sentence because some unknown force slammed into her from right out of the blue, sending her to the ground back-first, her arms ending up splayed out like an eagle's wings. Due to her toon heritage, her eyes were momentarily replaced by comical, black swirls as Kim and Ron hurriedly helped her up.

Rufus hopped onto the brunette's right shoulder to check for a pulse in her neck. The tiny mole rat gave the other two teens a thumb-up for 'She's okay.'

Hamster's pride, on the other hand, was _far _from okay. And if Kim knew her well enough (and she did), the cheerleader had a strong feeling whoever bumped into the brunette was about to be _further away_ from okay.

"Alright, buddy," Hamster started in a cold tone, her eyes sealed shut in an equally cold glare as part of an attempt to relax her temper, after she got back to her feet. She had her hands clenched, ready to shove themselves done somebody's throat. "Give me one solid, good reason not to axe kick you, right now."

"Because that would be a very improper way of greeting someone after not seeing them for a while..."

Hamster shot her eyes open when she heard that voice. She stuttered as she took in the sight of Kim's cousin brushing off dirt from the front of his shirt. "L-Larry...?"

Yes, standing in front of Hamster was none other than Larry himself. Despite the snarky comment, the brunet regarded her with a very apologetic stare, putting his hands behind his back and donning a bashful grin. "It's nice to see you again, Hamster...all things considered, of course."

Ron shared a confused look with Kim and Rufus before looking back to the two brunettes and pointing a finger back and forth between them. "You guys know each other?"

"Define _know_, Ron," Hamster drily commented. She gawked when Ron actually tried coming up with an answer. "I was being sarcastic! Ugh, alright, look, Larry and I met at Bueno Nacho earlier this week. I came by to tell you two my news that day, but you were still in school, so I decided a little snackage would help me kill some time."

"I came by to tell Ned that Robot Rumble was cancelled for this week," Larry continued for her, scratching the back of his neck all the while, "I saw Hamster standing at the counter by herself, looking around, so I decided to do the gentlemanly thing and conversed with her. We sort of ended up on the wrong foot."

Hamster sighed when the boy switched from scratching his nape to rubbing it again, not to mention avoiding eye contact with her. She didn't hold what happened against Larry—that fight had been her fault, too—but right now wasn't the time for either of them to feel out of place.

"So...Larry...," she tried an attempt to make the awkwardness slide away faster, "where are ya headed?"

"To the comic store," the mop-haired boy replied, "the newest issue of the Fearless Ferret came out today."

"Seriously, Lar'?!" Ron butted in, an excited smile on his face. "Badical!"

"Uh yeah...," he waved to the trio, his nervousness subsided for the moment, "a-anyway, I better get going. See ya, cousin, see ya, Ron, and it was," Larry cast his eyes downward for a moment as if in hesitation, "..._nice_ seeing you again, Hamster."

Hamster, Kim, and Ron watched Larry walk away at a pace meant to be nonchalant but instead came out hurried and awkward.

"That was unusual, and considering this is _Larry_ we're talking about, that says a lot," Kim shrugged her shoulders, "Oh well, it's probably none of our business. Anyway, what were you saying about your plans, Hamster? Hamster...?"

Normally, Hamster not paying attention didn't faze Kim. This time was different. The brunette had this light in her eyes that made her look not only distracted but decisive, too. She finally blinked once when she realized Kim just asked her a question. "Huh...what...?"

With a concerned stare, Kim continued, "I know zoning out is one of your special skills, but you were looking off the way Larry just went with a more blank face than usual. Is something the matter between the two of you?"

Her cousin _did _say he and Hamster ended up on the wrong foot. Was Hamster spacing out because of guilt? Whatever the case was, Hamster refused to budge an inch about it, evident when she shrugged and responded in indifference, "It's nothing, Kim."

Kim and Ron shared a look of disquiet. They both knew that was a lie. And they knew Hamster didn't prefer sharing her feelings either—a side-effect from being around mostly guys and hardcore women for most of her childhood. But they also had no clear idea what could be going on between their otherworldly friend and Kim's otherworldly cousin.

Whatever issue these two had in-between them had to be solved between them alone.

Kim and Ron could only hope.

* * *

Their hope did not remain unfulfilled.

With summer vacation just kicking in, Hamster, who arrived to Middleton on the last day of high school a few days ago, quickly sought out Larry at the comic book store that served as the stout male's sort of second home right after giving a hasty goodbye to Kim and Ron that day.

Finding the place had been a snap, but it had also been only half the battle. The other half would be actually _facing _Larry.

Hamster did not feel awkwardness easily. Being a half toon, she had long been familiarized with the oddities that lie beyond the reality most other mortals know. Plus, she'd seen many impossible things during her journey across the worlds, so strange sights no longer took her surprise.

Not in this case.

Standing in the doorway of a comic store where science fiction enthusiasts and role-play game lovers had the nerd stereotypes to a T and with her as the only girl in sight didn't quite equate as a comfortable situation. Hamster felt naked here.

"And who are _you_?" a snotty, feminine voice suddenly quipped to her immediate left. Hamster shot a look to the side to discover standing by her a chubby girl who looked about her age.

Clad in baggy, brown slacks held up by a black belt with a shiny yellow buckle, a tucked-in, white T-shirt, an open, long-armed coat and shoes of the same slightly dark pink hue (save for the white soles and laces), the girl had downward red hair fashioned in a style that reminded Hamster of a bell and was highlighted by a purple headband. Like Larry, she had beady black eyes, which continued surveying the newcomer with critical distaste as she adjusted the glasses up along her round nose, her arms crossed over her chest like those of displeased sergeant.

If this chick expected her pose to intimidate the newcomer, she was sadly mistaken. Case in point: "Are you Larry's twin or something?" Hamster quipped in her own genuinely curious way.

If _Larry's twin_ was offended by the question, she didn't show. Instead she regarded Hamster with that same, cynical, superior look that reminded the brunette too much of Bonnie Rockwaller, Kim's rival. "_I _am Princess Ledele of the Farseers. And who, pray tell, is a person of _your_ status think she is, waltzing onto sacred ground, dare I ask?"

_'Am I supposed to be impressed? Because that was kind of a weak intro...'_ Feeling her familiar bravado, Hamster stuck a thumb to her chest and gave the other girl a toothy grin, "I think, therefore, I _am_ Hamster—hero, demolition expert, disaster-relief worker, and hedge trimmer, at your service, milady!"

As per usual with all other strangers, the ginger looked at her as if she'd just seen Mickey Mouse do the Cha-Cha. "Hamster?" she uttered with no shortage of disbelief, and slowly, too, like she'd just seen a cartoon she couldn't understand, "that has got to be _the_ most ridiculous name for a role I have ever—"

A familiar, glaring boy pushed his way past the ginger before she could finish that statement.

"Don't start Charlotte," Larry grumbled at her in admonishment. He softened his expression when he turned to Hamster. "I'm sorry. Some of us here aren't exactly comfortable with new faces. We are creatures of habits, after all."

Hamster shrugged. "Meh, don't sweat it. I've been given worse intros." _'Way worse...'_ she mused with some bitterness at the memory of some of her enemies.

The awkwardness settled in once more as the silence dragged on, Larry and Hamster looking away from each other, both knowing what had to be said, but neither sure how to start. Having Charlotte's tense, questioning stare on them didn't help matters at all.

_'C'mon, Ham, stop being a baby! Woman up!'_ Hamster cleared her throat before speaking up. "Listen, we already apologized about what happened at BN the other day, but I came by to ask you whether or not we can start over—as friends, I mean."

Larry raised his eyebrows up at the offer, at first...then he smiled and put his hands behind his back, "Yes, I'd be very happy if we could start over."

Relief flooded Hamster at these words, so she returned Larry's smile in full. "Really...? Great! Then, I guess that's it!"

Larry nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's it."

...

"Well, I better get going."

"Wait!" Larry stuck a hand out to gently grab her by the shoulder. He continued after Hamster turned her head to look at him in confusion. "Nobody says you have to leave yet. You could stick around for a while, if you'd like."

"What?" Charlotte and Hamster chirped, both with shock but with dialectally different tones as well.

"Yeah, there are plenty of things to do in here." Larry blushed once he realized the flaw in his logic: Hamster had come here for _him_, not the comics or games. "Although I'm not too sure whether anything in here falls within your neighborhood..."

Hamster regained her composure. Hmm, well, right now _was_ summer. She had plenty of time to kill. Besides, she wouldn't be needed anywhere for a while, anyway. Placing her hands in her pockets, Hamster gave Larry an appreciative wink.

"We'll see about that."

* * *

As Larry suspected, the comic store didn't have anything in Hamster's range of interests. But to the geeky boy's pleasant surprise, she still came every now and then, regardless, always on the pretense of "hanging out with a friend." At first, Larry thought she'd still been trying to make up for their spat at Bueno Nacho, so he half-expected her to drop by less and less as the days went on.

Such was not the case. In fact, Hamster seemed to come by more and more every day. Since she never indulged in any of the activities that abound in Geek-halla (her pet name for the comic book store), she instead retreated to an open corner of the store with a sketchbook she'd started bringing after her first visit. So while everyone else read or played, she drew. Every movement, every feature, every face—she bore into memory by pencil...one subject in particular.

And when said subject finally approached her about her routine after a particularly competitive role-play on a hot day in late-June, Hamster merely grinned and wiped the sweat off of her forehead, her bare, toned arms visible from her sleeveless black sweater due to the removal of her jacket, which lay at her feet. The owner really had to fix the air-conditioning in here.

"Eh, just a little something-something..."

Larry tilted his head in a way that a tiny part of Hamster couldn't help finding adorable. "Like what...?"

"None of your beeswax...," Hamster teased with a smug smirk. _'It'll take more than that to make __**me**__ spill.'_

"Hmph," Larry crossed his arms and returned the smirk, determined to win this verbal battle, "And here I hoped you had manners."

"I do," the girl shrugged, her hands shifting the pencil across the paper like an oar across water. "I just don't feel like using them most of the time."

Larry rolled his eyes at the goofy explanation. "And you wonder why you gnaw on almost everyone's nerves."

"Well, you're still here. So I guess my annoyance powers either didn't work or are getting defective."

At the good humor, the two kids shared a long, boisterous laugh that could have been heard even from outside. Well, _Hamster_ did the boisterous part; Larry merely chuckled quietly. But their closeness hung in the air, all the same.

They made a routine out of witty banter like this ever since Hamster's first visit to Geek-halla. Talks like this were sweet, but not too sweet—just like Hamster liked it. And Larry enjoyed them, as well. He'd never met anyone, much less a girl, who could capture his attention, fascinate him, and leave him eagerly guessing more than even the adventures of the Fearless Ferret ever did. Not even his regular arguments with Charlotte could compare with the pokes and jabs he shared with Hamster.

But these moments couldn't last forever—at least not where they were currently taking place.

Many of Geek-halla's occupants worried that they were losing their glorious senator to the "Intruder" (their name for Hamster), Charlotte especially. Only Ned showed any support for the budding relationship taking place between his fellow Robot-Rumbler and one of his favorite customers, his words falling on his peers' deaf ears time and time again.

Larry had long since recognized the fear and pressure of his followers, but, to his surprise, discovered that he hadn't cared what they thought for the past few weeks. Perhaps being with Hamster earned him a sense of audacity. The idea wasn't far-fetched. But the whispers _did _eventually start getting to him. The idea of breaking off his friendship with Hamster unsettled Larry deeply. He couldn't do such a thing to her! It would be unfair to not only him, but to her, too!

"Then how about a change in scenery then...?" Hamster suggested with a smile when he'd opened up to her about this problem on the last day of June. When she whispered her plan into his ear, Larry swore he never smiled more in his life! He grinned at her like a mad scientist after she pulled back.

"Hamster, you are a ten-level genius every day."

* * *

Since Geek-halla proved a bust, Larry and Hamster switched to more "liberated" hang-out spots.

Bueno Nacho worked out well enough, in spite of the food there not appealing to Larry's taste buds. Thankfully, Ned's support let them have their conversations in peace. Pizza Pals' Pizza Party Emporium turned out to be an even _better_ choice after Larry confessed his guilty obsession for pepperoni pizza one day after a heated argument with Hamster over restaurant preferences.

The best part: Hamster always had these wacky ideas for adventures that never failed to keep Larry on his toes just as well as his brunette friend did—like their trip to the Upperton Museum of Modern Art. They had a blast playing a sort of hide-and-seek among the museum exhibits before a security guard ran them out. Or to Toontown where Hamster treated Larry to an afternoon-long tour of the best sights the place had to offer, including front-row seats to an all-new Roger Rabbit movie (which did Hamster's heart good to know that her wacky step-uncle hadn't lost his touch).

Sometimes, Kim and Ron would join in on the fun, too. The two heroes were glad Hamster and Larry were getting along again, and even gladder that their two friends had grown so close in such a short time.

In the midst of all the summer fun, though, Larry felt something strange one day while he watched, sitting Indian-style in the shade of his umbrella, his cousin, Ron, and Hamster splash around in the water. They were at the beach that day, Hamster wearing a one-piece, deep blue bathing suit that complemented her figure well. Uh—not that Larry cared how she looked, of course!

What was this weird worming feeling? His science-fiction fan-crazed mind instantly labeled it as a possible alien parasite, but Larry dismissed that thought quickly. He was out of touch with reality, but he wasn't _that_ out of touch. Still...something had to be causing him to feel so odd...but what?

Was it because of Hamster?

_'No, don't be silly, Larry!_' he admonished as he crossed his arms over the sky-blue T-shirt he wore, '_We're just friends! It's not like one of those cheesy teen romance flicks Kim makes Ron watch with her. That would be too sudden anyway. We're friends, period, and that's that!'_

Up until the nature hike, that belief made all the sense in the world to Larry Bowman.

So why did a nature hike, of all things, change his mind?

* * *

July lay near a close, August just above the horizon, school just around the corner (not that anybody wanted to dwell on _that _detail).

A heavy rain shower had passed over the area recently, leaving the air tangy and humid and cool. Hamster seized the chance by purposely waking Larry up at 6:00 on a Saturday morning so they could get a jumpstart on their planned hike before too many "tourists came by and mucked up the natural beauty."

Despite being disgruntled at such an early wake-up call (especially after Hamster belted her voice into his ears through the phone), Larry had awaited the hike all week with eager anticipation. He'd never gone hiking before; he hoped the scenery was as beautiful as the views in the richly illustrated Space Commando Series.

After squirming his way out of a full coddle-session in which his mother, June, attempted to outfit him with a suit that would have worked better for a volcanologist, Larry managed to escape his house with all the necessary supplies Hamster advised him to bring, everything packed into a medium-sized, khaki backpack since he and his friend would only be gone until the early evening (Hamster wanted to see the sunset at the top of Mt. Middleton before the trip back).

Hiking in the mountains proved to be more of an arduous task than Larry anticipated, even though Hamster made sure they took the easy routes. All the same, Larry didn't take long to start huffing and puffing for air, sweat seeping through the chest of the white muscle shirt he wore under his dark-brown, button-up T-shirt. _'How often do my cousin and Ron have to put up with stuff like this? This is torture!'_

"If you're feeling hot, then I suggest you take off your shirt. I wouldn't want you suffering heat exhaustion on your first hike."

Larry blushed the second Hamster recommended that. Suddenly stone still in the middle of the trail, he shifted his eyes side-to-side in a nervous manner. Taking his shirt off in front of a girl, even if it was a second layer and even if the girl _was_ Hamster, didn't strike Larry as comforting.

"Uh, would that _really_ be necessary?"

Hamster stopped walking the trail as well, her back to Larry for a few seconds before she swiveled to look back at him with a questioning stare and shrugged her shoulders. "I won't mind. Just make sure not to remove your backpack while you're doing it. Trust me, once you take that pack off, you will _not _want to put that sucker back on."

Taking her words to heart, Larry carefully started getting the T-shirt off while making sure not to take the backpack off of his shoulders. Unfortunately, he messed up somewhere and ended up getting the straps tangled in the shirt's long arms. His progress must have been taking too long for Hamster's patience because he suddenly found the brunette standing right in front of him, moving his hands away, and undoing the tangles herself.

Too many times her surprisingly dainty fingers came in contact with his bare skin, especially on the neck and shoulders, and Larry felt his unmentionables react more and more with each touch. He only hoped Hamster wouldn't notice. Fortunately, that possibility never ended up becoming reality because she finished before Larry's hormones could do any _real_ damage.

"There we go!" Hamster exclaimed as she zipped open the main compartment of Larry's backpack, stuffed the shirt in there, and zipped it back shut. She stepped back from Larry and clapped her hands with a satisfactory air. "All better!"

Larry shook his head once he realized Hamster no longer stood in his personal bubble. He almost sighed in relief, but remembered Hamster stood in front of him again, still watching, so released the air through his nose instead. In a somewhat feeble attempt to save face, Larry gave Hamster his customary, laid-back frown. "Thank you, but I'm sure I could've handled it myself."

Hamster rolled her eyes at him. "And wait on you until the dead of night? Thanks but no thanks." And with those words, she swerved around and continued her way down the trial. As she walked on, Larry dropped his façade and remained behind for a few seconds to gather his senses.

Why had he reacted so strongly to her touching him? She'd only meant to help him out. There hadn't been any ulterior motive, just like when she suggested he should take off the shirt. Besides, sometimes the human body reacted for merely physiochemical reasons. Emotions didn't always have to be a cause.

_'Besides, what would Hamster see in a guy like you?'_ Something deep inside him died at his inner voice's words. He didn't deny what that voice told him, though. Why should he when it was true?

He had the body of a chipmunk, not to mention the teeth of one, too. Plus, he had this snotty voice that, according to many folks outside of Geek-halla, made him sound condescending. He couldn't help how he sounded; blame it on the phlegm! And to top everything off, his interests creeped almost everyone around him, even members of his own family. Without his Dungeon Magus status, he was a nobody.

Hamster, in contrast, was..._dynamic_, to say the least. She bristled with energy and passion, even when standing still. She also had more guts, gall, and balls than any man or woman Larry ever knew, save for Kim and Ron, of course. And even if she didn't realize it, she had charisma; people considered her a person to depend on and trust, especially when the going gets tough. As for her body...well, as far as Larry was concerned, friend's viewpoint or not, Hamster would make Aphrodite look like a Plain Jane.

And Larry didn't wish to lose her. In spite of the brief time they'd known each other, she'd ended up being the best thing that had ever happened to him. She made him feel like he could be himself, a luxury he didn't get to have often, even among his fellow dragon-tamers. To them, he was their beloved, unshakeable leader; to the student body, he was one of the bottom-feeders. To Kim and most of the rest of her family, he was that creepy cousin seriously out of touch with reality. To his mother, supportive of his individuality as she was, he was a defenseless toddler in a teen's body.

To Hamster, he was Larry, nobody else.

_'I won't let her go,'_ he thought with fierce resolve. His hold on his strips tightened as he caught up with and marched back into step with the subject of his fervent thoughts, who remained none the wiser about his reason for lagging behind.

_'No matter how much nonsense it makes.'_

* * *

_August..._

High school, just as Hamster predicted, had been a joke.

The teachers—well Steve Barkin mostly since he replaced more than two-thirds of the staff—were the sorts of people Hamster had dealt with before. Homework, paying attention in class, and daily two-hour studying were all she needed to be able to make good grades and ace all the exams.

It all got so easy it became boring within the third week.

Day in, day out, save for the weekends, school lost its appeal and Hamster quickly realized one the reasons people didn't tend to like it. It was monotonous. If not for the company of Kim, Ron, Rufus, and, occasionally, Monique and Felix, Hamster would have most likely gone mad—well, mad_der. _Many times, she even tagged along with Kim and Ron on their missions, another way to break the boring ritualism of high-school life, but even then, the half-toon could never escape this weird feeling of...incompletion.

That's why she had Larry, to fill the gap with his own brand of weirdness.

From quick, cursory greetings to small talk whether in school or outside, they'd share whatever they had on their minds, be they interests or whatever else they could turn into a conversation. Larry would drone on about his comic book conventions and his recent achievements on _Fortress_; Hamster would chatter excitedly about either her recent endeavors in art, the one school subject that never bored her, or these "special hunting trips" she went on with her older friends, Max Goof and Serah Farron, on the weekends.

Every day, the two brunettes could be seen hanging out in the lunchroom, eating and talking the minutes away while dozens of wide eyes glanced their way. Neither Hamster nor Larry noticed the incredulous stares they received. They were too busy in their own little world, a world they had long ago weaved together.

Just like at Geek-halla and beyond, they remained glued at the hips.

Kim, Ron, and Rufus noticed. Even better, they embraced the new friendship. Granted, Kim found the idea of Hamster hanging out with her sci-fi obsessed cousin rather bizarre, but then again everybody needed some abnormality, right?

"Never be normal," after all, as Ron would say.

But not everybody agreed. In fact, some people, instead of merely whispering behind Hamster and Larry's back, chose to vocally complain about her choice of "buddies."

Hamster ignored them. She'd dealt with enough people throughout her life criticizing her for being or doing something out of the norm that the complaints rolled off her back like rain.

Besides, _Larry_ was the one who worried. Knowledgeable in role-play games and surprisingly intelligent, he wasn't as naïve in the how the world works as others assumed. He recognized those kinds of stares, the kinds that say _'What the heck is a girl like that doing with a guy like that?'_

Being a bottom-feeder for so long seriously influences a person's sense of self-esteem, and Larry, as much as he cared for Hamster, couldn't help wondering why she kept choosing to hang out with somebody like him. His inner voice's words from the hike always haunted him when he pursued the answer to this question.

_What would Hamster see in a guy like you?_

Yet when he finally exploded under internal pressure about this fear (he could never bring himself to hide anything from her, especially with her super-sleuth skills), Hamster brushed off the Food Chain as nothing, flippantly claiming that "if they wanna be idiots, then let 'em."

Larry realized something startling the second she proclaimed that statement to him: he'd never been so awestruck by anyone in his life, not even Kim. Yes, his cousin performed amazing feats of bravery and had saved countless lives, as did Hamster herself.

But Hamster right here...what this girl—this woman—only worried for were the people who cared about her. Nothing else mattered.

_'Is it any wonder then why I'm falling for her?'_

* * *

_November..._

But love, like friendship, has its obstacles. Bonnie Rockwaller proved to be one of them.

"Um hello, duh, it's like totally sick and wrong."

As Hamster rolled her eyes and retrieved her Spanish book from her locker, Larry eyed Bonnie Rockwaller with a glare that would've made his cousin proud. Kim's rival, strangely enough, had been on his and Hamster's case for days, now. Didn't that girl have anything better to do?

_'Oh wait,' _Larry thought in sarcasm, _'of course she doesn't.'_

Why Bonnie even insisted on badgering them like this, Larry didn't want to know, although he had a hunch Bonnie wanted to get back at Hamster for upstaging her at the previous football-game. ("I couldn't help myself. It's the toon in me.")

From what Hamster told him, she and Bonnie had known about each other ever since Hamster first came to Middletown four years ago, during her first quest to save the worlds. To say Bonnie and her Queen Bee attitude aggravated the ex-Aura Wielder to no end was mere fact, but Hamster had dealt with people (human and otherwise) nastier than the high and mighty Rockwaller. For that reason, she was one of the few people Bonnie could not get a rise out of.

Especially since Bonnie was the one being put through a rise.

"Um hello," the indignant fashion queen barked impatiently, hands akimbo and stiletto shoe tapping hard against the tiled floor like a gavel as the recipient of her tirade continued to ignore her, "are you even listening?"

"I'm sorry." Hamster plastered an innocently confused smile over her face as she looked to Bonnie. "Did you say something? I zoned out for a second."

Bonnie slapped a palm to her face, sending a glare at Larry who chuckled at her expense. Her scalding look did nothing to deter the boy's amusement. "Ugh, you're so hopeless. First Possible, and now you: whatever's going on in that head of yours, it better not be contagious. Although I'm not surprised, you always _did_ look someone who lusted after losers. "

And with those words, Bonnie sauntered off.

Even though the self-styled queen's parting statement didn't faze Hamster, unlike Larry, who resisted the urge to stomp down that hall, grab the bratty cheerleader by the wrist, drag her back, and demand an apology to Hamster out of her, it brought something in the half-toon's mind. As far as Larry could tell from her facial expression, his friend—he cringed with regret every time he called her that—looked deep in thought.

Larry tapped Hamster on the shoulder to catch her attention. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she spoke with such honesty that her words took Larry back. Usually she'd use humor to beat around the bush. Instead, seriousness took hold of her face as she positioned the Spanish book under her arm, her backpack slung over the other. Since the school day was over, she nodded to the exit, signaling Larry to come along. Larry complied, but he couldn't help feeling nerve-wrecked as he and Hamster walked down the halls.

_'Please don't say what I'm afraid you'll say,'_ the bespectacled boy prayed in his mind, _'Please don't say it.'_

Hamster's voice broke him out of his anxious thought process. They were alone outside, standing by the flagpole where June would be picking her son up—but not for a while. If there were any perfect opportunity for Hamster to come clean, now would be it.

"But now that Bonnie, of all people, mentioned it—and I can't believe it took someone like _her_ to make me realize—there _is_ something that we need to settle once and for all."

Resignation gripped Larry by the throat once the two teens were outside. When Hamster faced him, Larry closed his eyes and titled his head down. He knew what would come next. Why delay the inevitable?

"I want you."

...

"W-what...?" Larry slowly brought his head up, his mind numb with shock at Hamster's serene expression, which contrasted with the sensual nature of her short, simple statement. How she could drop such a bombshell on him so easily, he wasn't sure he'd ever understand.

Maybe that was okay. Some things just didn't require to be understood, after all. Hamster was a perfect example.

"I didn't stutter." Her face, point-blank, held no lie. But she also smiled at her pudgy companion with unusual tenderness. "I want you, Larry Bowman. Ever since we met at Bueno Nacho, I always thought there was something special about you. But my feelings didn't evolve into anything higher. All I saw in you was a sort of brother-figure I could trust whenever things got tough for me...unless of course I'm involved in any brawls with violent-tempered foodstuffs."

Violent-tempered foodstuffs?—_'On second thought, never mind,' _Larry mused in amusement, his anxiety lessened, even if only for a moment. Although his heart ached a little at the words "brother figure," he knew there'd be more to Hamster's explanation so he wisely waited for her to finish.

"In all honesty, I didn't like the idea of being in love with you at first."

At this point, Larry sighed, nodding in agreement. "I guess you considered me improper boyfriend material."

To his relief, which soon gave way to confusion, Hamster shook her head. "No, I just thought you deserved somebody _not_ me."

"What do you mean?"

Hamster crossed her arms over her chest, the book snug against it, and turned her gaze skywards, a dark sadness in her emerald eyes.

"I am destruction." She decided to elaborate after seeing Larry's blank stare. "That's what people used to tell me every day because they thought that was to be my destiny. Eventually, it got to the point that I actually believed them...so I tried to be reckless and wild so I wouldn't have to face what I thought to be the truth."

_'Oh God...that's...'_ Larry thought in horror, his heart breaking in sympathy. He jumped a little, though, when Hamster's whole mood suddenly brightened a little. Even at times like these, her moods swings never failed to take him by surprise.

"Then I met Rocky." Her eyes grew warmer, her tenor voice firmer. "He was one of the best things that ever happened to me...yet I never told him how I felt because I feared I'd end up hurting him. What happened instead turned out to be worst: he was shot dead."

Silence overtook everything. Yet Hamster was not deterred by it as she continued, her happiness outweighing her sorrow and rage, her mellow expression never changing.

"For the longest time, I tried to bury the blame I put on myself for not being there to protect him, just like I did all the other times something went wrong because of me. I know better now thanks to all of my friends, but," she looked away, her smile finally fading, "...sometimes I catch myself wondering if I'd been right back then."

Her words caught in her throat when she felt Larry seize her by the shoulders. Staring hard into her emerald eyes, Larry neared his face to hers, his eyes strong yet gentle, their gaze leaving Hamster in a rare moment of speechlessness.

"I know what sort of person you are, Hamster," the boy told her in a quietly resolute tone, his face set with conviction, "You're a lot like Ron, but you're also a little like Kim. You do what you know is right, even when others don't agree with you, but for someone so supposedly laid-back, you really need to learn how to stop shouldering the weight of the past. I'm sure this Rocky guy must have been great. He _had_ to have been to catch your eye...but he's in the past now. It was an accident that he died. And you did the best that you could. And don't you _dare_ give me any excuse about how 'your best wasn't good enough.' You'll have to try better than that."

He understood by Hamster's stunned countenance that she hadn't expected him to get so assertive with her. _'I'm kind of surprised myself. At least Hamster seems to be listening.'_

Softening his face, Larry slid his hands down her arms shyly, as if afraid she might disappear if he let go. No resistance came from Hamster when Larry took her slim hands in his own larger ones. The chubby male blushed darkly when the subject of his requited affections suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist and nuzzled his cheek with hers. Her actions made him feel like a can of soda pop about to burst from the top.

And he loved it.

Especially when she leaned forward so close that she could kiss him and whispered into his ears, her voice as silky as honey, "I will."

* * *

_December..._

As the snow blanketed the world outside, a certain Dungeon Magus, from the safety of Kim's house and with a cup of hot cocoa in his hands, watched the whiteness fall from the sky.

_'I wonder how Hamster's doing out there.'_ He chuckled to himself at the thought of that girl freezing her butt off. He would've joined her, but he'd already had to endure the cold once today thanks to some intensive Christmas shopping he had to go through with his mom—not to mention that Hamster put him on lockdown after he told her that. Speaking of shopping, Larry still had to wrap up Hamster's gifts back home.

_'She looked pretty excited when I told her...and in her case that's saying a lot.'_

"Penny for your thoughts, Pudge?" a smart-alecky voice above him asked. Larry looked up to see his girlfriend standing behind him. Her usually flowing hair looked like it had just suffered an electric shock.

"Let me guess: the Christmas lights."

Hamster stuck a finger skyward to indicate correction before dropping her rear next to him on the couch, smoothing her hair back down to its regular fashion. "Close—the_ wiring _for the lights; I tell ya, one of these days, Kim's old man is going to send this house up in smoke."

"Not that the fire," Larry added in, shaking his head slyly, "of course, would faze you. You'd manage to make it the opposite." Hamster shot him a mock glare then gave him a teasing push in the shoulder, something Larry returned in earnest. Their little pretend-fight would've gone further if Jim and Tim, who'd been watching the two lovebirds from the corner of the hallway, started making kissy-face noises.

Hamster chased them around the house for four hours on end for that.

Larry wished he'd brought popcorn.

* * *

_A couple of months later..._

Eyelids creaking open, Larry peered through the sunlight that shone through his bedroom window. Still dressed out in his bunny pajamas, the portly teen opened the window up and looked out. Today seemed beautiful and promising—birds singing, the sun coming out behind large, puffy clouds drifting around it, somebody lounging out on his front lawn—

_'Wait, what?'_

Loafing on his front lawn in a pair of shorts and an orange T-shirt labeled with "Monster's University" in bold, black block-letters, her hands behind her head, and sporting black sunglasses was none other than Hamster herself.

Larry couldn't resist snorting. _'It's not even May yet, and already she's acting like its summer again.'_

"Oh hey ya, Lar-Bear, I was wonderin' when you'd wake up!" The beaming brunette, taking her sunglasses off, waved up to her boyfriend. "June said ya got back late last night from the R-and-R, so I decided to crash on the grass for a little bit. Hope ya don't mind!"

_'It's not like you'd give me a choice in the matter,'_ Larry commented in his mind with some annoyance. He had to admit, though; he was jealous of his love's knack for being able to kick back and relax so easily, regardless of where she was and whoever might be watching.

"So what, are we gonna stare at each other all day, or you are gonna change clothes and come down here?"

Larry rolled his eyes at the girl's silliness. "Alright, alright, just give me ten minutes, okay?"

* * *

Yeah, Middleton was not exactly what you'd call a "hot town"—at least not in appearance.

If you expected daily excitement, you would have most likely thought of Go City, Upperton, or even Lowerton.

Middleton? _Forget about it,_ you might say at first. _What's so special about __**that**__ place?_

If you ever want to find out, just follow a certain half-toon's example and take a closer look.

It could be the best thing you've ever done.

* * *

**Yeah, I know I rushed the relationship. You still have to admit, though. Those two are pretty cute together.**


End file.
